


let the choir bells sing

by kinneret



Category: The Mummy Series
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Rick is bisexual, ardeth bay more like ardeth BAE, everyone is jewish (except for rick), evie is the superior spelling, i don't make the rules, jonathan and rick went to college together, still on my lowercase bullshit, they both joined the jewish fraternity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-14
Updated: 2019-01-14
Packaged: 2019-10-10 06:53:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17421143
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kinneret/pseuds/kinneret
Summary: jonathan is getting married, so rick flies in to reunite with the rest of their fraternity brothers—and drown his sorrows at the reception's open bar. he ends up doing more than that. (for the request, "two miserable people meet at a wedding au")





	let the choir bells sing

**Author's Note:**

  * For [asailoratheart](https://archiveofourown.org/users/asailoratheart/gifts).



> Title from Bruno Mars' song "Marry You," which I hate as a wedding song but love for its sheer ridiculousness. Written for a Tumblr request. Might involve an OT3 sequel at some point, if I get around to it.

rick o'connell should know better than to attend any of his fraternity brothers' weddings by now, considering how well it has gone for him so far. david's wedding was a muddy mess with collapsing tents; bernard's wedding involved a cheating scandal between the bride and burns' own brother; isaac's wedding was amazing, so of course that is when rick decided to drink himself into a stupor and take one of his friends home. (it was a good thing that ardeth wasn't looking for a relationship and that the morning after wasn't too awkward for rick to be invited to his wedding years later.) but, of course, jonathan carnahan getting married is the last seal of the apocalypse—and rick just has to go see the carnage for himself. 

he arrives just before the rehearsal dinner starts and jonathan immediately introduces him to the bride. she is... everything he expected her to be. tall, blonde, beautiful—and rich. she's got more pearls on than a mikimoto exhibit and that cashmere sweater looks like it might be custom-made, but really the lovely and surprising thing is that she's actually sweet. she asks about his flight, laughs at his jokes, asks for stories of jonathan in college, and looks at jonathan with the kind of annoyed fondness that he deserves. rick doesn't quite know what to do with the information; an earnest marriage was not on the list of things he expected to attend this weekend. 

"she's really lovely," rick says to jonathan during the bachelor party right after. "you're lucky." 

jonathan laughs, clapping him on the shoulder. "don't i know it, dude." 

he looks at ardeth for a long moment, gaze heavy, and seeing their matching tattoo peeking out between the buttons of his shirt makes rick ask himself way too many questions—so he _drinks_.

*** 

the ceremony is jewish, of course—rick managed to join the only jewish fraternity on campus and, by the time he figured it out, he had finally learned all the words to _lecha dodi_ and it just seemed like a better idea to stick around—and it is also short and very much _them_ , full of jonathan's humor and rebecca's quiet piety. their _chuppah_ , redecorated from its last use at ardeth's wedding, is a welcome weight in his hands, and he clings to the pole he holds so he can keep himself steady. 

and then jonathan stomps on the glass and rick is suddenly the last single man in his entire pledge class. the reception can't come soon enough. 

so, of course, he can't even get a drink without having an existential crisis—this time brought on by ardeth looking like a mirage, on oasis in the desert, as he leans against the bar in his all-black ensemble. his hands are _bare_ , rick notices, and the curve of his mouth is as sinful as always, and rick just cannot with this right now. _fucking hell_ , he curses internally, turning on his heel and heading towards the other bar. 

the bar is packed, of fucking course, so rick tries to wedge himself between the crowd, which leads to him overhearing his least favorite kind of conversation—the one where the woman says _no_ and the man hears _try harder_ and everyone is miserable. so rick sighs, walks over, and wedges himself between the two of them, elbowing the man out of the way. 

"the lady said no," he says firmly. "so fuck off." 

"language," she mutters, english accent crisp, but there's clear amusement in her hazel eyes. 

"hey, who the fuck are you?" the man asks, pushing back, but rick stands his ground. 

"i'm the dude who's going to punch you in the face and then get the groom to kick you out unless you leave the lady alone." 

the bartender places a whiskey in front of rick and points at the man. "just go, man." he does, muttering, and the bartender rolls his eyes. "on the house, white knight," the bartender tells rick, a smirk on his face as he walks away. 

"to strangers saving lives," she says solemnly, raising her glass, and rick laughs and clinks his glass to hers. 

"strangers are just friends you haven't met," he tells her with a wink. 

she laughs. "you don't actually believe that." 

"uh, no, but it seemed like a good idea at the time." 

her next peal of laughter leads her to bumps shoulders with him, and rick feels like his arm is burning even as he smiles at her. "are you angling for an introduction?" 

"i'm rick. rick o'connell. groom's fraternity brother and all-around jackass," he says after a minute. "i hate weddings and firmly believe hell is other people." 

she chuckles. "evie. evelyn carnahan, groom's younger sister and antisocial librarian. nice to meet you." 

rick blinks at her. "i'd... completely forgotten that jonathan had a sister because we never did get to meet."

"this is actually only the second time i've come to visit since jonathan chose to go on his american adventure," she explains, twirling her wine in her glass. "i'm not particularly well-suited for it, i don't think." 

"that's why i travel," he says quietly, leaning closer to her. "the rest of the world is just so interesting and there are so many people and places to discover... i'm not content staying here." 

evie smiles, a soft smile that makes her look almost ethereal, and rick swallows hard. "do you like london? britain in general?"

"very much so," he confesses. "not sure how much the english like me, mind you, but i had a hell of a time in london and the countryside was pretty enough for a weekend drinking and relaxing." 

a distinguished-looking man with glasses sits on the other corner of the bar, and evie tenses next to him, her hands curling around the stem of her glass. rick leans onto the bar a bit more, invading evie's field of vision. 

"ex you'd rather not talk to?" he asks quietly. she nods, dropping her gaze to the bar, and rick downs his whiskey in one gulp. "mine was leaning against the other bar and apparently he's not wearing his wedding ring anymore, so i ran over here. i'm thinking maybe you and i should run to the dance floor." 

evie finishes her wine and nods. "let's cut a rug, mr. o'connell." 

"please don't say that again," he says with a laugh, dragging her to the dance floor. 

*** 

they dance for hours. evie spins him around and laughs, and stumbles into his arms, and shimmies with glee. she dances with her brother while rick dances with rebecca; she coos over isaac's pregnant wife while rick and isaac fetch drinks; she dances with ardeth, looking dazzled, and rick watches them and clutches his glass and sighs. the man with glasses introduces himself—his name is julian and, in rick's humble opinion, he's a dick—and asks how long he's known evie, and she answers for him as she places a kiss on rick's cheek. 

"entirely too long and yet not long enough," she says with a grin, tucking herself into his side. "rick's one of my brother's favorite people." 

"and you're one of _my_ favorite people," rick blurts out, looking down at her. his eyes roam her face, taking in her bright eyes and soft, rosy mouth, and his own mouth is suddenly much too dry.

"you're a flatterer, o'connell," she says with a smirk, pressing even closer to him, and rick forgets how to breathe. 

julian clears his throat. "it's so nice to see you again, evie." 

"you too, julian," she replies, eyes still locked with rick's, and julian maybe leaves then or maybe he leaves minutes later, with rick and evie still locked in a half embrace that is too much and not enough—rick doesn't even know what's happening anymore. 

the spell is broken when jonathan joins them, laughing. "o'connell! my favorite _goy_! and evie! my favorite sister!"

"his only sister," she informs rick _sotto voce_ , taking a step away from rick so she can make room for jonathan to embrace them both. 

"are you guys having fun?" 

rick nods. "it's a great _simcha_ , jonathan."

"what a fucking _mensch_ ," jonathan laughs, dropping a big kiss on rick's cheek. "i fucking love you, man." he turns to evie, still grinning. "isn't he a _mensch_?"

"he chased away a creep and annoyed julian for me, and he's got some hebrew? definite _mensch_." 

jonathan hugs rick tightly. "you're a hero. evie's hero." 

"go drink some water and dance with your wife again," rick suggests, hugging him back. "i'm going to go get some fresh air." 

he nods, kissing evie's cheek before running off, and rick and evie stare at each for a long moment. 

"mind if i join you?" she asks, her voice quiet. 

rick offers her his arm and leads her to a balcony. 

*** 

the balcony leads to a couch in the hotel lobby, which leads to sitting at the edge of the pool with their legs in and then to lying on the lawn outside of evie's garden suite and stargazing. they talk about anything and everything, hands sometimes brushing as they gesture animatedly, and rick finds that he is more relaxed with her than he's been with a new person in perhaps ever. they dance without music in her hotel room, stumble into her bed, and curl up around one another to talk some more. rick itches to reach out and touch her, to kiss her—he keeps reminding himself that she's jonathan's sister and she's not over julian and he's not over ardeth and he's about to get out of bed and leave to save himself when evie kisses him. 

"stay," she murmurs against his mouth. "tell me more about your travels. watch the sunrise with me. let's have breakfast." 

rick tenses, closing his eyes, but his arms tighten around her involuntarily. evie waits patiently, mouth still tantalizingly close, and then rick groans but kisses her just as softly as she'd kissed him. 

"we keep our clothes on, though," he whispers. 

evie nods. "just talk and sunrise and eggs. maybe a kiss or two." 

he smiles, shaking his head, and tangles a hand in her hair so he can kiss her again. "and after tomorrow?" he asks finally, gazing at her. 

"we'll play it by ear, o'connell," she replies with a smirk. 

so they do.


End file.
